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Lunar tandem successfully enters orbit around the Moon
...Ringing in the new year with back-to-back successes, a second NASA science satellite slipped into orbit around the moon Sunday, one day after an identical spacecraft braked into the same polar orbit for a $496 million mission to map the moon's interior by precisely measuring how its gravity affects the trajectories of the twin spacecraft...
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Astronomy Now's year in space
...Pluto’s new moon, salty water on Mars, interstellar travel and black trees on a world with two suns; look back over the year as we count down the most read news stories of 2011...
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First “mini-Earth” discovered around Sun-like star
...A rocky exoplanet smaller than Earth, and its neighbouring Earth-sized world with a thick water-vapour atmosphere, have been detected around a Sun-like star already known to host three larger planets....
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Silence from NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander
by Joe Milton
for ASTRONOMY NOW
Posted: 2 March 2010


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We all struggle with long northern winters here on Earth, but enduring the harsh northern Martian winter may have proved too much for NASA’s Phoenix Mars Lander.

Stages in the seasonal disappearance of surface ice from the ground around the Phoenix Mars Lander are visible in these images taken on 8 and 25 February by the HiRISE camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona.

Phoenix landed on Mars on 25 May 2008 and operated successfully for around five months – two months longer than expected. Among other data collected from the planet’s surface, the craft detected water in the Martian soil. However, Phoenix is powered by solar energy and waning sunlight eventually led it to shut down.

It was not designed to survive the extreme conditions of the Martian winter, but NASA scientists are hopeful that Phoenix may still awaken periodically and transmit signals to the space association’s Mars Odyssey orbiter.

A computer generated image of NASA's Phoenix lander in action Image: NASA

As the Martian spring returns – there are currently around 22 hours of sunlight every day – Odyssey has been listening for signals from Phoenix, but the lander has remained silent so far, returning nothing during the 60 overflights conducted from 22-26 February.

A final attempt will be made between 5 and 9 April, when Phoenix will be illuminated constantly by the Sun.

The Planets
From tiny Mercury to distant Neptune and Pluto, The Planets profiles each of the Solar System's members in depth, featuring the latest imagery from space missions. The tallest mountains, the deepest canyons, the strongest winds, raging atmospheric storms, terrain studded with craters and vast worlds of ice are just some of the sights you'll see on this 100-page tour of the planets.
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Hubble Reborn
Hubble Reborn takes the reader on a journey through the Universe with spectacular full-colour pictures of galaxies, nebulae, planets and stars as seen through Hubble's eyes, along the way telling the dramatic story of the space telescope, including interviews with key scientists and astronauts.
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3D Universe
Witness the most awesome sights of the Universe as they were meant to be seen in this 100-page extravaganza of planets, galaxies and star-scapes, all in 3D!
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Infinity Rising
This special publication features the photography of British astro-imager Nik Szymanek and covers a range of photographic methods from basic to advanced. Beautiful pictures of the night sky can be obtained with a simple camera and tripod before tackling more difficult projects, such as guided astrophotography through the telescope and CCD imaging.
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Starry Night
Explore the Universe with these new versions of the award-winning Starry Night Software. Available now from the Astronomy Now Store.
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Exploring Mars
Astronomy Now is pleased to announce the publication of Exploring Mars. The very best images of Mars taken by orbiting spacecraft and NASA's Spirit and Opportunity rovers fill up the 98 glossy pages of this special edition!
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Mars rover poster
This new poster features some of the best pictures from NASA's amazing Mars Exploration Rovers Spirit and Opportunity.
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